Hard Drive Issue

[sillyfresh]

Quick question, I need to search for files on an old computer that is running Windows 2000 but it is not booting for some reason. Is it possible to just take out the hard drive and slave it to another computer and search the hard drive for the file?

 

[ch33zw1z]

Yes, that's what you should do. It will work unless it's the hard drive failing, causing the system not to boot. 🙂 post back results!

 

[sillyfresh]

oh okay great, does it have to be a computer running windows 2k or can it be a windows xp computer?

 

[techmanc]

You might want to read my posts in this thread as it talking about a simular problem.

Bottom line is don't add a second OS directly to your system as problems can develop. Use a USB2.0 hard drive adapter/enclosure to get you files.

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...id=2287521&STARTPAGE=1

 

[sillyfresh]

okay, I will have to keep that in mind for future reference. I will just have to connect it to the one computer in the office that is running win 2k. If it running the same os then it won't be a problem correct?

 

[corkyg]

What he means is, use an external USB drive case and hot plug ity after the host system is up and running. It can be any OS that way.

 

[sillyfresh]

I should have explained myself better. I understand the USB method that he is talking about but I need to get the file today. It isn't a personal computer, it is for one at my work and I don't have time to go out and buy an external enclosure at the moment. Is it okay to just slave the hard drive to another computer running win 2k? The computers are not used anymore but they just have files that were used in the past and now I have to go back and search for an old file.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: sillyfresh
Is it okay to just slave the hard drive to another computer running win 2k? The computers are not used anymore but they just have files that were used in the past and now I have to go back and search for an old file.

Yes, you can do that. An XP computer can read both NTFS and FAT32 formats on the old hard drive.

For the future, I suggest you pick up a "universal" IDE/SATA-to-USB adapter cable. These only cost $20 or so and let you attach pretty much any hard drive (IDE or SATA, desktop or laptop) hard drive to any PC via a USB cable.